title: Direct use of methanol as an alternative to formaldehyde for the synthesis of 3,3'-bisindolylmethanes (3,3'-BIMs).
abstract: Red card for formaldehyde: The direct coupling of indoles with methanol to 3,3'-bisindolylmethanes with good to excellent yields was accomplished by using a commercially available iridium complex. This study demonstrates the potential of direct use of methanol as an alternative to formaldehyde for synthetic transformations.
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094 (P. R. China).
authors.forename: Chunlou
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Xiaoyuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Li
keywords: bisindolylmethanes; dehydrogenation; homogeneous catalysis; iridium; methanol